Greasing the Skids in Seattle

Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 10:09 AM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

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The press release by the Workforce Development Council (WDC) of
Seattle-King County ignores the fact that H-1B is being used to replace
local workers. They feign innocence in order to get their share of the
training fund pork.

We must assume that the Seattle council knows that huge numbers of
American technical workers in the Washington area can't find jobs. They
merely brush off these people as unqualified and use that to justify
why companies are continuing to hire H-1Bs.

And skilled labor is definitely needed.
According to Department of Labor statistics,
despite the severe economic downturn, during
2001, Puget Sound IT employers requested
9,400 H-1B visas more than double the number
of requests filed in the boom year of 1998.

It's very obvious that the WDC cares a lot more about spending $3
million in pork than about discussing the truth. They will run training
classes that provide employment for a few teachers and school
administrators while ignoring the reality that these displaced workers
will not find a job. That's because skills isn't the issue - cheap
labor is the reason H-1B is being used to replace workers.

http://www.djc.com/news/ht/11141908.html

February 11, 2003

$3M grant will help train tech workers

By JOURNAL STAFF
SEATTLE -- The Department of Labor has issued a $3 million grant to
help train local workers in high-tech advances.

The H-1B Technical Skills Training grant will be used to pay for half
the training costs for targeted companies to educate nearly 600
employees in 10 specific information technology fields.

Funding for the grant comes from fees paid by U.S. companies to import
highly-skilled foreign workers through the H-1B visa program. According
the Department of Labor statistics, Puget Sound IT employers requested
9,400 H-1B visas in 2001.

The Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County, a coalition
of local employers, government officials and educators, will coordinate
the grant distribution through a system of educational vouchers.

http://www.seakingwdc.org/PR/TechJobsLocal.pdf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 6, 2003
Contact:
Partnership Earns Federal Training Dollars
To Keep Tech Jobs Local

SEATTLE A unique alliance of employers, union leaders, government and
nonprofit
organizations has successfully won a $3 million Department of Labor
grant to keep local
workers skilled in high tech advances.

The H-1B Technical Skills Training grant is a proactive approach to
addressing the
information technology (IT) needs of Puget Sound area employers by
enhancing the skills of
our local workforce rather than importing labor from overseas, said
Kris Stadelman, CEO of
the Workforce Development Council of Seattle King County (WDC), a
local nonprofit
workforce advocacy organization that led the effort to secure the
funds.
H-1B grants are funded through fees paid by U.S. companies to import
highly-skilled foreign
workers to the U.S. through the H-1B visa program. These visas are
frequently used to fill
advanced IT positions when skilled local labor is unavailable.
And skilled labor is definitely needed. According to Department of
Labor statistics, despite the
severe economic downturn, during 2001, Puget Sound IT employers
requested 9,400 H-1B
visas more than double the number of requests filed in the boom year of
1998.
We need to make an investment in training our own workers, said Joe
McGee, Executive
Director of the International Federation of Professional and Technical
Engineers (IFPTE), Local
17. This is an opportunity to 'grow our own' staff, keep them highly
skilled and reduce the
number of contractors.

To meet this need, a groundbreaking coalition of employers, union
leaders, local government
and educators under the umbrella of the Workforce Development Council
of Seattle-King
County netted the $3 million grant to support a unique training system
using educational
vouchers. U.S. Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn, Seattle City Mayor Greg
Nickels and King
County Councilman Kent Pullen provided key political support for the
groups grant
application.

--more--
Phillip Endicott
Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County
206.448.0474
pendicott@seakingwdc.org

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